URGENT PRESS RELEASE
Date: 30 December 2025
People of Iran Defy Repression as Protests Spread Nationwide
Nationwide Protests and General Strikes Sweep Iran as Regime Intensifies Crackdown
Once again, the streets of cities across Iran are witnessing nationwide protests against the regime.
On 28 December 2025, traders and shopkeepers in Iran’s capital, Tehran, launched a general strike and mass protest in response to unprecedented inflation, economic collapse, and severe currency devaluation. Within three days, the protests spread to at least fifteen cities across the country.
One day after the Tehran strike began, university students from several universities joined the demonstrations, expanding the protests into a powerful nationwide movement.
As in previous uprisings, the regime responded with brutal repression. Security forces were deployed to violently attack protesters. Reports from inside Iran confirm that demonstrators were beaten, assaulted, and in some cases shot at.
According to credible sources, dozens of people have been arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The fate and whereabouts of the detainees remain unknown, raising serious concerns about torture and enforced disappearance.
Despite the violent crackdown, the protests are ongoing and continue to grow, with more people joining each day.
In the lead-up to these nationwide protests, the regime, fearing a new wave of uprising, dramatically increased executions, making 2025 the deadliest year for executions in Iran in the past 15 years. These executions have failed to silence public resistance.
This current uprising is a direct continuation of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in custody. Since then, resistance has taken many forms, including:
- Women defying compulsory hijab laws and confronting morality police
- Nationwide strikes and protests by workers, teachers, retirees, nurses, and students
- Prisoners across 55 prisons participating in weekly “No to Execution Tuesdays” since February 2024, protesting the death penalty
You stood with the people of Iran during the Women, Life, Freedom protests. Today, they need your support again.
The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) urgently calls on the EU, UN, and governments worldwide to take immediate action to:
- Pressure the regime in Iran to end its violent crackdown
- Release all detainees and political prisoners immediately
- Hold the regime accountable for violence, arbitrary arrests, and human rights violations
CFPPI urgently call on citizens, journalists, human rights defenders, labour unions, and organizations worldwide to act now:
- Write to your Members of Parliament and government representatives
- Demand an immediate halt to the crackdown on protesters
- Demand the release of all detainees and all political prisoners in Iran
Silence empowers repression. Action saves lives.
For More Information and Media Inquiries:
Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
🌐 www.cfppi.org
Shiva Mahbobi
Spokeswoman
📧 shiva.mahbobi@gmail.com
📞 +44 7572 356666